Sharing a Lovegood
by teanotes
Summary: Luna Lovegood discovers that differences don't matter when you've kept friendships stronger than any magical war. Editing.
1. Dysfunctions

a/n: rewritten dec 7, 2013

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><p><em>Chapter 1 – Dysfunctions <em>

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><p>A short bang came from behind the door, and most likely Ginny had kicked it since her hands were occupied with the remainders of her school luggage.<p>

"Luna!" Ginny Weasley's voice called out, tearing through the confines of the Burrow bathroom. "Mum says to finish unpacking so she can bring out the desserts downstairs already!"

Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, Luna smiled. "Thank you, Ginny. I'll be out in a bit."

Ginny's voice came down to a near-whisper, but it was loud enough to hear through the door. "Better be quick. You're dad's thinking of breaking out the dance moves since the party's so dead."

Luna laughed. "Daddy doesn't mean to dance, he's considering doing an old ritual to keep away the nargles."

"Just hurry before he starts prancing around doing muggle dance moves, yeah?" Ginny offered.

"Daddy knows not to do the electric slide. Not after last year's accident," inferred Luna.

With an echoing laugh, Luna heard Ginny's petite steps stride away down the hall.

It was the week after their Hogwarts graduation, and since she and her father lived so close, the Weasley had courteously invited them to a simple graduation party with immediate family and a few close friends. Her father, now a capable traveler for the infamous wizard magazine, the Quibbler, was setting off for another round across the globe in search of the prized mythical creature always mentioned before.

Luna sighed and tapped her reflection in the slightly tipsy and cracked mirror before her. Her eyes were heavy and the idea of falling into a deep sleep was tempting.

She glimpsed outside the window to see the small figures of people preparing for a dinner. A figure she guessed to be Hermione helped Molly Weasley with setting the table. Ginny's brothers sat together in a circle, talking about things that weren't too important, occasionally blasting a spell from their wands to liven up the conversation. Just in time, she watched as Hermione burst in laughter at something Molly had said, hand over mouth and eyes smiling.

Not many people had been surprised when Hermione Granger redid the last year at Hogwarts, finally graduating the same year as Ginny and Luna. Her desire to finish her education was supported by many adults, including the new Headmistress McGonagall and soon-to-be Herbology Professor Longbottom.

Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, on the other hand, were swept away by the Ministry to deal with official seeming things, that Luna didn't bother remembering, and came back as the youngest head Aurors in—well, a long time.

She searched the ground floor for any sign of the two boys and saw them parked away from all the others, hanging around under one of the bigger trees. They talked normally and smiled appropriately as if the other cracked a joke not worth repeating. Neville was with them, too, absorbing everything they said with a childlike appearance. But they were far from children.

In a perfect world, everything would be alright now. No more war or fighting or hurting. Luna knew better, though. She always did.

Sighing again, she moved towards the sink, grey eyes ahead. Taking out a coin—no bigger than a galleon—from her rucksack, she started the sink.

Luna Lovegood led a peculiar life. Not to say dysfunctional, of course. Her father, being her father, attracted the attention of an intelligent young woman back in the days.

When she was younger, she never really understood much of the details. She had been taught long ago to take things in stride. Athena the goddess of wisdom and war, after all, always had a plan.

See, "half-blood" meant a lot more to her than it should've.

She was nine when her father brought her to America—to Camp Half-Blood. It made sense, even to her at the time, that she different. For every summer she'd spend at Camp, she'd spend the rest with her father at home.

Yet, even with such living arrangements, her life changed the year she turned eleven.

Strange summer as it was, explaining how an owl managed to charge through Camp defenses and land near Luna Lovegood, daughter of Athena, delivering what seemed to be an acceptance letter to a school no one's heard of but Luna herself, was pretty hard.

Luna was to go to Hogwarts under the ruse of a British boarding school, while summers were still spent at camp.

There was always something tugging at the back of her mind, something looming beyond the halls of Hogwarts and the cabins of Camp. Juggling two lives to the best of her ability was never her intention, and for years she'd expended that need.

Glancing outside for the last time, she threw coin golden drachma in her hands into the air where a man-made rainbow sat, waiting.

"Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering." She said. "Show me Mr. Chiron at Camp Half-Blood, if you please."

An image started to appear in the rainbow. A pool table cleared with a man in a wheelchair, a cherub-esque man, and satyrs, all gathered around said table.

"Hullo, Chiron!" chirped Luna.

The satyrs, startled, flinched at the suddenness. Dionysus put down his cards as Chiron looked up from the deck of cards in his hands just in time to see Luna through the rainbow mist.

"Luna Lovegood," Mr. D spoke. Names were not his forte purposely, but he had no real reason to forget Luna Lovegood.

"I have something to ask of you," Luna chose her words carefully.

Chiron mistook her hesitation. "My dear, is there anything wrong? Firenze informed me that Hogwarts has recently fully finished with reconstruction not late after your graduation."

"Nothing like that, Chiron," Luna said. The centaur nodded knowingly and dismissed the satyrs with a wave of his hand.

"So, why have you called, child?" asked Chiron, taking a sip of tea.

"It's time, sir."

Chiron didn't seem all that surprised at the revelation, but Mr. D had the decency to cough over his snort.

"Luna, you must be completely aware of the consequences once this has passed. There are a lot of laws against this, you know."

"I understand, Chiron."

"And this knowledge will be limited to…?"

Luna pondered this for a moment. "My friends. Just them. I know in my heart they wouldn't tell a soul. Or without a soul."

"Don't be so foolish, girl!" Mr. D cried. "You should better consider those wizards' government before leaping to this."

Luna felt like turning into a pile of goop. "Sir, I understand. I always have. They won't know, nor do I feel like they should."

"You might be right, girl, but you also might be wrong." Chiron gave Mr. D a look and the wine god rubbed his temples. "Bah, it's not like this is my business."

Before speaking, Chiron sighed. "In order to guarantee full cooperation, I have to ask: you understand all ties leading up to this? All things it may lead?"

"I'm sure, otherwise I think I would not be here."

"Yes, yes." He sighed again. "I have to have a long discussion with your mother and the gods later."

"Oh!" Luna exclaimed. "Thank you, _thank you_, Chiron! I'll be sure to send you and Mr. D butterbeer cap necklaces next time! It keeps away stray nargles!"

"Goody," muttered Mr. D.

"Thank you, Luna," Chiron replied, now smiling as the Iris Message began deteriorating. "Be safe."

"You know I will, sir," Luna replied, a smile matching his being worn.

She did not look outside the bathroom again, but came outside in order to join all the activities happening below. Seeing their happy faces among the sadness, Luna thought, meant the world to her. And her world was quite big.


	2. Options

a/n: rewritten dec 7, 2013

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><p><em>Chapter 2 – Options <em>

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><p>Grover Underwood scrambled down from the steps of the Big House before tripping on his nose. He stood, dusted his shirt, and began again.<p>

Some Apollo kids who were playing volleyball barely shed a glance at the flustered satyr. Juniper, who was sitting near one of the trees at the pavilion while brushing her hair, spotted her boyfriend and skipped to him, smiling.

"Grover," she greeted. "Why are you in a rush? Want to hang for a while?"

"Uh, sorry," he apologized. "Not now. D'you know where Percy and everyone are?"

Juniper nodded and pointed at the Poseidon cabin. "They've been there for a while, doing gods knows what. What do you need them for? It's not anything bad, right?"

"No! It's nothing bad. Kind of—sort of," he slipped up. "Although that prophecy Rachel spouted last time gave me the creeps, it's nothing about that. It's actually—well, I'll tell you when we're there."

The pair headed towards the cabins, busying themselves with holding hands and quick catch-ups on how they were doing so far. Half-way across, they had almost forgotten where to go before Juniper tugged Grover in the right direction.

By the time they reached their destination, they were flushed and giggly. Grover grasped the door knob and walked in with Juniper tagging behind, without knocking. What they saw wasn't a surprise, as it was the same as it had been the majority of the summer.

Annabeth Chase was thoroughly reading an architecture book in Greek, while sitting comfortably on Percy's lap. Said boy was tugging on Annabeth's golden curls and looking over her shoulders. Grover could bet his flute he wasn't reading the book.

Nico was perched on Percy's bed as he dug through a box of what looked like pieces of burnt playing cards and occasionally shot dirty looks at the pair. Grover didn't want to know, though he saw Juniper purse her lips. Paper cards were made from trees, after all.

It was Percy who noticed them first.

"Hey, G-man!" he piped. "Juniper, too."

Annabeth looked up from her book and gave a small smile. Nico jumped up.

"Grover! Did you know Percy's an idiot?"

A resounding chorus of agreements followed his question. Percy looked affronted.

"Why?" Grover asked before Percy could say anything.

Nico rolled his eyes. "Percy set fire to my playing cards from Vegas and then _soaked them_ with his water powers."

Ignoring Percy's indignant "It was an accident!", the satyr raised an eyebrow.

"And why did he just so happen to do that?"

Annabeth was the one to answer for him. "He was jealous that Nico got the last pudding cup during lunch."

Grover snorted. "So he resorted to violence?"

"No," Percy defended. "It was an accident, I swear!"

His girlfriend rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she addressed Grover. "Did you come here for something?"

Percy snickered. "Going to invite us to your future wedding in the woods?"

Juniper coughed and her greenish skin blushed darker. Before ignoring him, Grover picked up a nearby pillow and threw it at his general direction.

"It's a little complicated," Grover said, "But I think I've got the gist of it."

"Gist of what?"

"Annabeth," he said, "you know your sister? Luna?"

"Lovegood?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah, well, I overheard her IM with Chiron and Mr. D. I think she's being allowed to tell her quote friends unquote about us. Camp. Everything," said Grover. "Can you believe that?"

Percy blanched. "Friends? Uh, demigod—"

"Nope," the satyr corrected. "Human, I'm guessing."

"That's impossible," said Nico. "They're mortals—they're not allowed at camp."

"Who's Luna?" Juniper asked.

"Right," Grover answered. "You don't know her. She's a daughter of Athena. A bit ditsy for an Athena, though. Travis and Connor calls her Loony Luna."

"Luna's intentions are good," Annabeth clarified. "She's about two years older than me. She's British and goes to this boarding school in somewhere in Scotland. She was with us during the war, you know."

"Okay, yeah, British Luna," said Percy. "But revealing the whole big secret thing? And Chiron's _letting her?_"

Grover shrugged. "From the sound of it. One thing that really churned my butter, was what I heard after the IM, when Chiron spoke to Mr. D. He said—"

A sudden thump filled the room when Nico dropped his box and picked it up as he muttered a curse.

"—the gods are allowing it."

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><p>"So how does it feel to be an official Hogwarts alumnus? I wouldn't know," said Harry.<p>

Hermione glared. "I've told you—you still could have finished school with me. _All of us_ could have graduated together!"

Ron snorted from his side of the couch.

The Golden Trio plus their unofficial spinoffs—Luna, Ginny, and Neville—were currently lounging in the Weasley living room, doing absolutely next to nothing.

"Merlin, I'm almost _wishing_ for some evil butt to kick," Ginny said, leaning on Harry's shoulders.

"I don't," Ron replied, carelessly twirling a strand of Hermione's hair. If she was bothered, she didn't say so. "I've had enough evil butt kicking to last a lifetime."

"Agreed," said Harry as he yawned.

On the other couch, Luna was reading the_ Quibbler_ magazine, upside-down. She didn't wear any shoes, and no one intended to tell her to put them back on for reasons undelivered.

"Then what should we do? If my gran knew I was wasting the rest of my summer on a sofa, she'd beat me with her purse," Neville said. He was tinkering with his small plant he brought along.

"Is it the same purse Professor Snape displayed in your class long ago?" Luna asked, still reading her magazine. "I remember overhearing when I was in 2nd year."

Neville turned red. "It was a boggart."

Respectively, Ron burst out laughing and Harry smiled at the memory. Hermione rolled her eyes, but there was a small smile tugging at her lips.

Then they remembered he was dead.

Ginny frowned, trying to remember. "When was that?"

Harry answered. "Third year Defense with Re—Professor Lupin."

Silence in the room was deafening, and Harry closed his eyes in order to block memories out.

"That must've been fun," Ginny said with a weak smile. "All we did was discuss the elasticity of a flubberworm. Well, we did get to throw them from across the room."

"Oh, yes. It was a combined class with Ravenclaws. Didn't yours land on Colin Creevey's hair?" Luna added.

Neville and Ron laughed, though not as loudly as before. Ginny nodded, but not very enthusiastically.

Harry looked out the window and couldn't help but think that every conversation they had led to a dead person.

Luna examined her close friends' expressions and decided this was the right moment to drop the bomb.

"Let's go on a trip," Luna informed them.

All were silent for a moment before realizing it was _Luna_ who spoke, and not any of them.

"Where, Luna?" Hermione asked, straightening up from her position with Ron. There was a quaint disappointment shown on his face.

"America," Luna replied, unfazed. "Summer camp."

Ginny jerked out of Harry's grasp and got up from the couch. "America? Are we going by plane?"

Harry blinked. "I don't have a passport."

"What's that?" asked Ginny.

"I'm fine with it," Hermione said. "Only, aren't we a little old to be going to summer camp?"

Luna giggled. "Age is but a number."

"Are you talking about a _muggle_ camp?" asked Ron. "Are you mad?"

"Ron!"

"No, but he's right—a bit," Neville interrupted. "There's only so much a bunch of wizarding teenagers can do before slipping up completely in a confined space with other kids."

"Oh," said Luna. "We are very smart, therefore I've nothing to fear."

"Well," Ron said, resigned, "Can we still bring our wands?"

"If you'd like."

"Wait," Harry said. "We're really going?"

"I'd like to," Ginny said, stretching her arms.

The group buzzed excitedly, planning things out. As they came onto the topic of transportation, someone suggested Apparating, another suggested flying on Threstals ("I am _not_ riding one of those again," someone said. "It was bloody _cold_."), someone suggested riding a charmed car—which was immediately declined by Ron and Harry—and at last, someone even popped the idea of riding a Crumple-Horned Snorkack, yet funnily, it wasn't Luna.

Ron brought up the last question. "When do we leave?"

"Sometime next weekend," Hermione replied. "That's good for my schedule."

"What should we do until then?" asked Ginny.

Everyone lapsed into comfortable silence again, something near lethargic.

"Who wants to play Wizard's Chess with me?" Ron broke in, ignoring the groaning going around the room. It was going to be a long week.

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><p>The Poseidon cabin was silent—which was strange by itself, considering that even though there was only one living resident, the place seemed to always be packed with other people.<p>

Nico ignored his playing cards and stared at Grover. Grover preferred his stare be transferred someplace else, seeing as the eyes of a child of Hades could most likely send you to an impending doomsday.

"What?" Percy asked, incredulous. "Why would they allow random mortals to know about us? Does that make sense? 'Cause this isn't making sense."

Annabeth rolled her grey eyes. "Yes, Percy, it doesn't. But the gods probably have a reason. Athena always has—"

"Yeah, 'Athena always has a plan'", Nico mimicked. "But why should _we_ care? Haven't mortals—besides Rachel and stuff—known this stuff before? You know, _without_ the sight-through-Mist thingy?"

Heads turned to Annabeth. She was here the longest, after all.

The girl in question shook her head, causing her blond curls to bounce. "No. Not that I know of. And why should it? I mean, that's the main reason why we have a border shield; to prevent mortals from wandering in."

"I just wanted to tell you guys that." Grover sat down on one of the many empty bunks. "Haven't you noticed last year—before the war began—that Luna was kinda down-in-the-dumps?"

"Sorry," said Annabeth. "I have a lot of half-siblings, and she wasn't exactly on my priority list last year."

"Yeah, well, she was acting really weird, like, weirder than before, weird," Grover continued. "I can read emotions, right? And it was like hers was off the charts. Something must have happened before she came to camp or something."

"We don't usually ask about life outside camp," Annabeth said, though they could tell her mind was turning with possibilities.

"We'll find out anyway," Percy said. "If what you heard was right. Things are going to get a little more complicated if Chiron's allowing mortals to know about Camp on a daily basis."

"Oh, well," he shrugged. "I guess I'll just ask her when she comes back. She did promise me some kind of bug-repelling earring. Wouldn't I look good with an earring?"

"No," they all said in unison.

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><p>Thalia felt something was off from the moment she let go of the bow.<p>

At the time, her Hunters practiced their aim and were just about to wrap up their business in the area. As head of the Hunters, the daughter of Zeus was able to hear leaked information at Artemis' hand, even if the last time they've heard from their goddess was two weeks ago. Artemis had offhandedly mentioned something about a conversion of roads—but that could have meant anything.

Her intel was vague, sure, but she would have ignored it completely if she didn't _feel it in her_; something was about to happen. And the demigods were going to be sucked into it.

She remembered Artemis explaining the agenda for the next few months. _Search for Lycaon. Find out why the gods plan to close all contact with demigods. Figure out why monsters are forming back way too fast..._ There was too much things to deal with in the future—now there was something else being planned? When Thalia finally had the nerve to ask Artemis what was happening, the goddess replied in the most unsuspecting way she could ever imagine; she laughed.

_See for yourself_, Artemis had said. This reaction somewhat soothed Thalia's worries—if it was a matter Artemis could freely _laugh_ about, then it shouldn't be a big deal, right?

The black-haired girl shot her last arrow and retreated with her Hunters into the tent to sleep for the night.

It was, predictably, a bullseye.

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><p>Nico shifted. Not that he didn't feel a little guilty sneaking around down in the Underworld, but it was such a frenzy that he was sure no one would notice him.<p>

Spirits flew about everywhere and he could hear Thanatos sighing with impatience already. Well, that was what he got for never letting him touch his fancy iPad.

Yet, he did feel guilty for leaving Camp at such a time, with the information Grover had gave them during the day.

It wasn't his complete fault; he had just heard the news from one of Furies about his sister. He shouldn't have been surprised, but he couldn't help it. She was gone. Bianca was gone, choosing rebirth over _him_.

Why was she always such an overachiever?

It was an accident and a coincidence that he had stumbled over Hazel. His other sister, his second chance.

Whilst shadow travelling, he tightened his hold on his "new" sister, and suddenly he felt something else coming up to haunt him, not anything about the Romans.

"Magic," He muttered under his breath. "There's near nothing else that would surprise me anymore."


	3. Beginnings

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP or PJO, k?**

**Oh, my. I haven't updated **_**again?**_** Feel free to throw some tomatoes at me. At least summer's coming soon! When's your holiday start? Mine is June 8. :)**

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><p><em>Chapter 3 – Beginnings<em>

Ginny took out her wand and muttered a spell. The large trunk she had in front of her shrunk to a small, portable size, and she slipped it into her jacket pocket.

It was the day for their "holiday", as Luna put it, and everyone was getting ready. Ginny was the last to finish packing, only because she had the most to pack.

Luna only brought along two small carry-ons, saying that she had the rest at camp. She informed them that she's been attending that specific camp for years, even before she came to Hogwarts. When asked why, she'd reply a simple, "It's a family tradition" and smile.

"So we're going to Apparate?" Ron asked.

Unsurprisingly, they still hadn't planned it out. Now that they weren't pressured into either saving, rescuing, or any other heroic acts, they became Mrs. Weasley's worst fear—_lazy_.

Luna shook her head, her blond locks flying. "Of course not."

Ron groaned into his hands. "Great. We're not riding on a Snorlax-thingy, are we? I meant that as a _joke_."

"Snorkack, Ronald." Luna corrected. "But unfortunately, no. Crumple-Horned Snorkacks aren't meant for riding. We are going to use a port key to a place I know in Long Island, as that is where the camp is, and ride in a muggle car." _It's not somewhere you can Apparate to_, she added in her head.

"Ride…? Luna!" Hermione gasped. "The car we have isn't big enough! It's not meant for foreign streets—especially not ones for _America!_ How will we be able to send it there if we're just going to Apparate?"

Harry smiled as Ron asked cheekily, "Are you a witch or not?"

Hermione glowered.

"Right, so we use magic to charm the car there. But is that it? Just ride a car and show up? Don't we, I dunno, have to sign papers and things?" Ginny asked.

Neville was the one to answer before Luna, "Luna probably planned all that out already, right, Luna?"

Luna giggled and didn't respond.

It took a while for them to gather all their things (Neville had to go back twice to the house to check if he had all his plants with him and Ginny forgot her diary—not the evil kind), but in the end, they were right in time to use the port key to Long Island, New York. The requesting of the port key wasn't a big deal itself, only it was the accepting that was tricky. They were barely able to have one, thanks to the great Harry Potter and friends.

They found the car already parked and safe when they jumped from their port key. The landing point was a quiet roadside with no one around to see.

And so, they all piled into the car (with the help of an extension charm, they had plenty of room) that Hermione received for her 18th birthday. She never got around to using it, as she now permanently lived in the Wizarding World, but she couldn't decline her parents. It seems she still felt very guilty leading them into forgetting her. She hadn't gotten yelling, but only sad smiles and hugs, which made Hermione feel even worse.

Surprisingly, Harry was the first to get his driver's license (1), which he had earned because the inspector was an older lady who was "absolutely charmed by his good manners and performance". Harry swore he never used magic. Ginny almost believed him, that is, before she saw him wink to Ron behind Hermione's back.

It was too long of a drive and most had become rather bored already. Ron had tried to have his share of entertainment and took out his handy dandy deck of Exploding Snap, which held some of their attention, right until Ginny almost burned Neville's eyebrows off. Their last resort was to just relax and sleep, which they took in kindly.

Harry was in the front seat, having trouble, of course, since the roads were much different from the roads back home. Luna was in the seat beside him, still reading her much coveted magazine. Over the past years, Harry had gotten quite used to Luna. Everyone came to accept her for who she was and loved her. Even if Ron might make fun of her occasionally, it's noticeable once you see him smile at her the way he smiles at Ginny. Sisterly, was the word.

"Luna," Harry started, "you can get a headache from reading while in a moving vehicle."

Luna didn't even lift her blond head when she replied, "That's alright; I've got the wrist charms for those."

Harry chuckled under his breath.

It was about half an hour or so when Harry glanced back to see how his friends were doing.

It was a warm sight. They were all seated and sleeping and snoring as comfortably as anyone could possibly be in a magical charmed British car driving on American streets. Neville was scrunched up at the corner, his head occasionally tapping against the window, otherwise slumbering leisurely. To his right, Hermione was sleeping quietly, with Ginny to her side as she laid her head on Hermione's shoulder. Lastly, Ron was sprawled on the ground of the seat, his constant snores being the loudest noise in the car.

It was Luna that broke the silence. "We're almost there."

Harry looked and saw that they were near a hill. It was simple, but beautiful. At the corner of his eyes, he could spot a small strawberry farm, but as they got closer, the vision changed.

"Why is…?" He murmured to himself.

Luna smiled. This was going to be exciting.

* * *

><p>"Percyyyyy," Grover dragged.<p>

"Yup, G-man?"

"They're coming today."

"I could tell," Percy replied. This was obvious.

When Percy woke up that Saturday morning, he _felt_ the atmosphere tense. Camp was less rowdy than usual and everyone did their activities in a deafening silence. Percy shuddered.

Just like before the war.

They were all told at the bonfire the night before that they'd be expecting specific _visitors_, and they'd have to be on their "best behavior" (which caused a round of laughter, and even Chiron smiled a bit). Everyone was on edge—they we're curious yet on guard. Who were these strangers coming into camp? What do the gods have to say about it? The campers were ripping their hair out because there was so little information.

Annabeth and her cabin had been anxious, especially. Why was Luna, their half-_sister_, doing this? Who was she, _really? _There was so little facts that they knew about her—only that she went to some British boarding school and that for the past few years, she'd been coming to Camp bruised and damaged. And also that she had a fetish for owls and strange radish jewelry, but they knew that information was useless.

"Perce, I gotta go—Juniper wants to hang out for a while. We're going to—"

"Okay, _ew_. I don't think I'd like to hear any details, alright?" Percy grimaced.

Grover blushed furiously. "Perrrcy!"

The son of Poseidon just chuckled. "Go ahead, Grover."

And Percy was left alone to think and wander.

Percy sighed and continued walking. He had just come from the fighting arena and had come to the lake to cool off. No one was really there; only a couple water nymphs and some satyrs playing free-style on their flutes (sadly, Percy had to admit that they were quite better at playing Hilary Duff than Grover). He sat at the ledge and let his bare feet feel the water.

"Hey," A voice rang from behind. Percy jumped. He smiled as he saw who it was.

"Hey yourself," He replied. Annabeth sat down beside him, mimicking the way he sat. They didn't talk for a while, but it wasn't awkward. They had both gotten used to each other's presence that they didn't even need words to communicate anymore. Nico always said it was creepy.

"You can cut the tension in this camp with Riptide," Annabeth finally spoke.

Percy grinned. "Right. It's like the calm—"

"—before the storm, yeah." Annabeth finished. "It's kind of scary, actually. Do you know how much my cabin is freaking out? They've been muttering how much it's, quote and quote, 'a mystery beyond magical proportions'."

Percy let out a laugh. "To be completely honest, I really don't see what the big deal is. I mean, it's not like some humans are going to, what, use some bazookas on us or something."

Annabeth rolled her intimidating grey eyes. "Percy, the big deal is that mortals aren't _meant_ to come here. And since Luna Lovegood _must_ know that, these are probably not just mere school friends."

Percy was silent for a moment.

"Annabeth?"

"Yes, Percy?

"Was Luna with us last year during the war?" He asked, completely curious.

"Of course she…she was." Annabeth hesitated. Her eyes widened. "Oh, gosh!"

Percy looked at her in surprise. "What?"

"I just remembered when she came to camp last year!" She exclaimed. "It was the beginning of June and not much people were here that early; she was one of the first ones in my cabin. I remember because I had just come from the archery area and when I entered, she was there. She had bandages, all over her arms and face—and I know that wasn't from some cruel British physical education practice—it was from fighting, probably. Once I came in, she hid something behind her. I could have sworn it was a stick of some sort—"

"Woah, woah, wait," Percy interrupted. "A _stick?_ As in, from branches and stuff?"

For the second time that hour, Annabeth rolled her eyes (she seemed to do that a lot when near Percy).

"Yeah, a stick, let me continue," She replied. "Anyway, I ask her about it and she just replies in her vague way and I just drop the subject completely. I then see that she hadn't unpacked yet, which is weird, because in all the year's I've known Luna, she'd always unpack the fastest out of everyone in our cabin. I saw a weird coin on the top of her trunk, too. It was somewhat bigger than a drachma, but it definitely wasn't for sending IM's."

Annabeth glanced at Percy to see if he was still listening. He was staring at the water below them. Immediately, she knew he was listening. So she continued.

"There have been… rumors, floating around about her. And you know how I don't really care about that sort of thing, but now that I think about it, it's kind of strange. Weird glowing objects, strange appearances, friends that aren't part of our world _or_ the mortal world; it just doesn't add up. Honestly, I don't think I even know my own sister, even if she is half."

Percy stayed silent for a while. This was a sign to Annabeth that he was thinking—she had learned before that Percy, although he may act goofy and silly sometimes, is actually really observant, and even smart.

Then he finally spoke, and Annabeth had to take back her previous thought.

"Gang, it looks like we have a mystery on our hands. Let's split up and look for clues!" Percy joked. (AN: Scooby Doo, anyone?)

Annabeth sighed in resignation and stood up.

But it was true, she thought. This really was a mystery waiting to be solved. And maybe, just maybe, they'll find the answer once Luna Lovegood comes back to camp.

* * *

><p>"Luna," Harry called, breathless as he stared. "What <em>is<em> this?"

Luna giggled. "I'll tell you; only, we need to wake the rest up first."

Harry parked the car below the hill. Gradually, the wizards woke up, some groaning as they did.

Ron yawned. "Are we there yet?"

"Yes, Ronald," Ginny answered for them. "It seems we are. I—_what in Merlin's name is that?_"

"That's exactly what I wanted to know." Harry commented wryly. They were all still in the car.

"Friends," Luna began saying as she unlocked her car door. "I hope you're all ready to meet my other family."

* * *

><p><strong>(1) I've always imagined Harry to be the first to get his driver's license and Hermione the first to have her own car. I don't know why it turned out like this.<strong>

**Oh, gosh. I'm so evil—THEY DIDN'T MEET! Hohoho. I'm sorry, it's just that I feel like I have to clear some things up before their worlds collide, you know? (It was short, too. Ugh.) The good news is, it's almost summer break, and I'll have more time for writing! Hooray! (But I need to get through finals first, of course.)**

**Anyway, review if you liked it! And if you didn't, well, you still need to review! **

**-TN**


	4. Impressions

**Disclaimer: All rights belong to JK Rowling and Rick Riordan. Not me, because I'm not successful in life in any way.**

**This chapter just sat on my files for weeks, goading me into finishing it. I did, finally, only it took longer than I would've liked. :(**

**By the way, I edited/added a scene or two in Chapter 2 ("What Else?"), just to be clear when Nico and Thalia appear later on. So, you should read that part first, unless you read it already.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 4 – Wrong Impressions<em>

"Care to explain why in Merlin's white beard you dragged us to the middle of nowhere?" Ginny asked, eyeing the strange entrance at the top of the hill. "And what language _is_ that?"

Hermione examined from afar. "Well, it's definitely not Ancient Runes—"

"Like that subject ever helped," Ron muttered.

Luna replied, mostly to herself, "So you can see it."

Neville blinked. "Is this the entrance to your camp, Luna?"

"Correct," Luna replied. She sighed, as if exhausted, which got everyone's attention.

"Listen," She said, "this is going to be difficult to explain so if you would please save your questions for when we are inside, please."

Oh, Godric. Luna just stated a non-vague sentence. The apocalypse, per chance?

Ron deadpanned. "What are you talking about?"

"Wait, why can't you answer our questions _now?_" Ginny asked, incredulous. "I think I'd like to know where I'm going to spend the rest of the summer."

"Luna, at least give us a clue. I think I've had enough surprises to last me two lifetimes." Neville complained, only to smile sadly once he finished speaking.

"It's magical, isn't it?" Hermione deduced. Everyone's eyes widened in surprise. "It is! I knew it—but why did you say it was a muggle camp?"

Luna smiled, much like she used to—dreamily. "It is, but please trust me. Or do you need to read Daddy's article in the _Quibbler_ about trusting others? It's very well written."

Before anyone could object to reading about the glory of having faith in others, Harry finally spoke.

"I trust you, Luna." He said. "As long as this doesn't lead to another fighting spree, then I trust you."

The others slowly nodded in agreement.

Luna continued grinning; only now, her eyes were smiling just as happily. They all followed her as she trailed up the hill.

* * *

><p>Grover gulped. He felt an array of emotion and something unknown already seeping into the Camp. Looking at his fellow satyrs, they felt it, too.<p>

"Yo, Grover. What's up?" Percy asked, sitting down next to him on his table during lunch (Mr. D seemed to be eating indoors today, and Chiron was nowhere to be seen, leaving everyone to eat freely on others' tables not-so-secretively). Unsurprisingly, he was one of the only ones at Camp who still carried his carefree air. Everyone else was as paranoid as an old lady with ten cats.

"I can feel power, Percy. And it's not like normal." The satyr sighed.

"Really? All I feel is a stomach ache coming. I knew I shouldn't have eaten that week old pudding." Percy moaned as he rubbed his belly.

Grover bleated. "Perrrrrcy! This is serious!"

Percy chuckled. "I'm only kidding, G-man. It just looked like you could use some cheering up."

Grover sighed for what seemed like the millionth time that day. "Thanks anyway, but I don't know what to feel right now. Maybe I should just not feel until our visitors arrive."

"Yeah. Hey, have you seen Nico?" Percy asked.

"No. No one's really kept track of him since yesterday. Probably accidently shadow-travelled to China again." Grover answered.

"I spoke to Annabeth earlier, and she told me weird things she noticed about Luna. What is Luna really like, Grover?"

Grover paused. "Well, she's strange, for one, but it's kind of endearing, I guess. No one really hangs out with her. Us satyrs kind of like her, though, because she tells awesome stories of made-up creatures which have some sort of relation to the magical world."

"Really? Like what?"

"Like a Snorkack. Those are environmentally friendly creatures. Of course, we don't really believe in it, it's just interesting to hear her talk about something so enthusiastically."

"Hmm… So, she's passionate?"

"You could say so."

Percy looked at the sky thoughtfully. It was a cloudy day, and the sun hid shyly behind a cloud resembling cotton candy. Blue cotton candy did sound good right now, he thought.

He was about to add something, when a child of Apollo came running down from Half-Blood Hill.

There was only one phrase that made everyone in a frenzy.

"They're here."

* * *

><p>There was only one word to describe entering Luna's camp.<p>

"Wicked."

It was Ron, of course, who said that. Their short walk from down the hill to uphill resulted in a few heavy breathing.

The entrance gate was ornately decorated with funny words that were most probably from another language, and the moment Harry walked in, he felt something tingling at the back of his neck, much like when he entered the wand shop the first time. It was unreal—there were kids of all ages stilling around, throwing cautious looks at them. There were multiple buildings—cabins, maybe—looming over them. They were decorated so uniquely, differing from every other cabin there. Then there were the places that Harry deemed shouldn't at all be at a regular summer camp: a climbing wall with a lava pit, a fighting arena (something he would imagine come from things involving sword-fighting), and an archery unit (this seemed normal for camp, really, until he saw that every single board had been shot bulls-eye).

Then, there was the people—no, _teenagers_, who came running to them. In their lead was a man in a wheelchair.

There were stares, a lot of them, but not enough to unnerve Harry. He had just as much. Each wizard finally became aware of the many swords and bows and armor they had on. Ron and Neville's eyes widened comically and Ginny and Hermione almost gaped.

"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood," The man in the wheelchair announced loudly. The campers were deathly silent, eying the "visitors". They were wary.

Luna was first to speak. "Thank you, Chiron. Do you mind if we talk in the Big House?"

Chiron smiled warmly, and Harry felt a twist in his gut. That _smile_, that all-knowing yet wise smile, it was just like Dum—

"That's fine, child. I shall gather the camp counselors; meet us there in about five minutes. I assure that you know the way." He announced.

There were some groans from the crowd, maybe because there was only one camp counselor and everyone else wanted to know what was going on, only to be dismissed and find out later by gossip and rumors. Ginny stifled a smile. How Hogwarts-like, she thought.

Hermione had been observing. Yes, it was definitely magical, but not the same kind as them. On the other side, Annabeth had been thinking amongst the same lines.

By the time they had all gathered at the Big House, it had passed a mere five minutes. The wizards were caught up in "sightseeing". They stopped by the amphitheater, the armory, and the stables (wherein Neville was almost trampled by a Pegasus that reminded the trio of Beauxbaton's own majestic creatures).

When the wizards entered the large house, they were greeted by silence and even some glares. Chiron, the man on the wheelchair, had a look of feint surprise, as if he'd never seen the kids act so quiet and serious in there before.

"Now, now, children," He said, "No more fooling around, we've got some business to attend to. You all are so rowdy today."

This roused a few smiles from everyone. The man was lighting the tension.

"It seems not _all_ of our counselors are present, that's a shame." The man tutted. "I requested their appearance and they should both be here by now, as this is a very important meeting."

As if on cue, a poof of smoke and two figures appeared in the room, making the wizards draw their wands. That is, until they saw Luna put her hand out, telling them to lower their wands. They did, although hesitantly. The first one was a girl with spiked black hair and a ringlet on her head resembling a crown. The second was a boy with messy hair, not unlike the girl's, and a dark aviator jacket. Both seemed to have been knocked out.

The boy was first to awaken, only in a fright. "Hazel!" He called out.

Everyone paused. "Hazel?" A blonde girl with grey eyes asked.

The boy froze. "Hazel…nut. Hazelnut gelato. I just had a dream about that. So, yeah."

"Shut up, Death Breath. You're not exactly the ideal voice I'd want to wake up to." The girl woke up, groaning. "I have a pounding headache."

"Good afternoon, children," Chiron greeted. "I think it's best for some introductions, no?"

There was silence again, until Chiron motioned the blonde girl to speak up. "Right, well, I'm Annabeth Chase."

Silence and stares filled the room, and Annabeth nudged the boy next to her with her elbow. He had a mess of black hair and green eyes; qualities that the wizards were quite familiar with.

"Hey, I'm Percy Jackson." The boy said with a warm smile.

Ron and Ginny smothered grins as they heard his first name.

There was a round of introductions, leaving the wizards' heads dizzy with all the people and finally got to the kids who appeared in the smoke. (The wizards honestly weren't that surprised with anything anymore, after all they've been through. Only, this situation was a little different—more so than usual.) The girl, seeing that everyone was finished, went first.

"I'm Thalia. Just Thalia." She said, fixing her tiara on her head.

"Pardon me," Hermione said. Everyone in the cabin jumped. None of the visitors had spoken yet, and this was the first time one spoke. She was… British? "Is that diadem real?"

"Die what?" Thalia repeated.

"Blo—Hermione! Just say _crown_." Ron grumbled. "I've had enough of diadems already."

Harry somewhat agreed.

"Oh," Thalia replied, "You mean my tiara? Yup, it's real."

Hermione glared at Ron, before sending a friendly smile to Thalia which she returned.

"I guess it's my turn. I was actually busy before I came here," _Good thing Hazel was off at the other camp just in time before I was summoned_, he added internally. _Or else something unnecessary would have happened_. Nico sent a glower at Chiron, which the man ignored. "But whatever, I guess. Yo, random strangers. I'm Nico di Angelo."

"'di Angelo'? As in, '_of angels_'?" Hermione asked, curious.

Nico grinned, quite mischievously that Hermione regretted asking. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Percy rolled his eyes. "He's anything but. Kind of the opposite, actually."

"Yeah, more like Diavolo, right?" Thalia offered.

"Wow, you know what 'devil' is in Italian. Whoopty-doo." Nico shot back at the older girl sarcastically.

Chiron cleared his throat. "Now, I know you all are wondering what on earth is going on here, children, but before we continue this explanation, maybe it's best if we all be… comfortable."

Before anyone could question the man, he changed into his real form—a centaur. Some camp counselors, like the Stolls, put on a show of being mock-shocked, whilst others looked at the wizards for their reactions. Unsurprisingly, they were not disappointed.

Ron's blue eyes turned the size of saucers, Ginny let out a short gasp of surprise, Neville blinked before rubbing his face, and Harry and Hermione stared. Only, their surprise was short-lived (as was the counselors' delight) when they finally spoke.

"Mr. Chiron," Hermione started. "How were you able to transform back? What kind of magic is that, to disguise your body, but not your full appearance?"

"I didn't know centaurs could live out of forests!" Ron exclaimed.

Ginny smacked the back of her brother's head in annoyance. "Of course they can! Our Divination teacher was one for a period of time, didn't you know?"

"Like he ever paid attention in Divination," Harry pointed out. He thought for a while and added, "Well, I didn't pay attention that much either, even if it was Firenze."

Only Neville reached the demigods' expectations. "_You're a centaur?_"

Grover, who was not really a counselor but was included because he was god of the wild, asked dubiously, "Have you all seen a centaur before?"

Everyone, rapt with attention, listened for the strange visitors' reply.

It was Ginny who answered, "Of course, there's a whole pack of them near out school."

"Near your _school?_"

Hermione stared. "Yes… Aren't you all wizards? Isn't that why there's so much magical energies and auras around the area? I've seen the dryads, you know—although they're known to be extinct where we're from…"

"Well, they're very much alive, thank you very much," Grover replied snippily. He was a bit miffed about the dryad bit, as his girlfriend was one.

"Waitwaitwait—" Ron interrupted. "This is a _wizards'_ camp?"

"What the heck are you on about?" Nico asked.

"And what do you mean 'wizards'?" Percy jumped in.

Clarisse was ticked. "These people are loony!"

"We are not loony at all! That would be you lot if you think centaurs and lava pits are normal, see."

"Hey! What's your problem, you Brit?"

"Brit? Is that supposed to be an insult? Well, would you be insulted if I called you an American? It's just facts—that's stupid."

"You're stupid!"

"No, I'm not! Do you want me to hex you?"

"You're a lunatic if you think you can actually—are you waving a _stick_ at me?"

"Ginny! Put down your wand!"

"Oh, shut up Ron!"

"Oi! Don't hit your own brother!"

"I have a right mind to _Silencio_ both of you right now."

"Luna! Control your friends!"

"How rude! You people started it!"

Behind the fighting crowd (and the people trying to disperse it), stayed Neville and Harry. The other side left Percy and Annabeth, whispering amongst themselves with Grover listening in.

"What is this place, if not a wizards' camp?" Neville asked Harry, ignoring the fight between the teens.

"We did not!" Clarisse angrily proclaimed.

"That is enough," Chiron proceeded to say. They all slowly began to simmer down by the instruction of the half man half horse, albeit shooting furious looks at each other.

Harry waited and stated, "They're not wizards."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Obviously."

"But I'm starting to guess you are," Annabeth interrogated. Hermione nodded for the others.

"That's silly! Wizards don't exi—" Drew, a pretty Asian girl that almost reminded Harry of Cho Chang, said.

"Drew, don't finish that sentence. What do you think we are, remember?" A girl next to her said.

"Oh, whatever, Katie." Drew dismissed. Many still doubted, though. And the wizards were still clueless.

"If you'd like to hear the full explanation, maybe you should all just sit and listen properly, hm?" Chiron said in a soft stern voice, like a certain old professor's, Harry noted sadly. "The reason we are all gathered here today is because of the presence of this child right here."

Everyone looked to see he was waving gracefully at Luna, who throughout the whole conversations, was staring dreamily outside the window. She turned with wide eyes and smiled serenely, as if waiting for Chiron to tell her to start.

"You don't know this, but I am a half-blood—"

"You know we wouldn't care about your bloodline, Luna." Hermione tried to tell her gently.

The campers looked offended, but otherwise didn't speak. They knew that their explanation was going to be long. (Although they didn't know that there was another explanation coming their way.)

"I'm actually a half-blood," Luna sighed, readying herself for a long speech. They obviously were going to have questions at hand, too. "In two different ways."

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah, go ahead. Be free to throw rotten fruit at me (virtual, I hope). I haven't updated even when I said I would have time to—I've actually been surprisingly busy with things these past weeks like tryouts and piano lessons and a bunch of other reasons you wouldn't care about (My cousin is getting married in July, derp).<strong>

**I tried my best to elongate (ha, funny word) this chapter, but really, I just wanted to get it over with already. And I don't think I'll post Luna re-telling the story of how she was born and how she split her time in both worlds, as that was covered during the first chapter. I just might skip the whole explanation completely and just get on with the story, honestly… **

**Anyway, to make this fic work, the timeline is a bit changed, as in the HP and PJO events happened along the same time, and both wars ended in the same year (Wizard war was in May, gods' war was in August, respectively). **

**Thank you! **Oh, and I didn't really read over this for errors, I just skimmed through. So, I apologize for them if you see any. ******I'd really love feedback.**

**-TN**


	5. Delusions

**Disclaimer: Disclaimed.**

**I honestly have no more excuses. I think I'll be 109 years old by the time I finish this fic. In other news, I've officially been part of fanfiction for one whole year.**

**Enjoy…?**

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 5 – Deluded<em>

"Wait, a minute—so your parents are _gods?_"

"Yes, Ron."

"And there's such thing as the Underworld and Mount Olympus?"

"Yes, Ron."

"And there are monsters running around freely and attacking you?"

"Yes, Ron."

"… Bloody hell."

"Yes, Ron."

After about an half an hour of Luna's life story, questions flew, like excepted, between both groups in a flash. Hermione, who was quiet for the past few minutes, had her brain frying with all the new information she had learned—Annabeth was the same.

It was Percy and Ron who held the tips of the rope and didn't quite fully understand the situation.

"So why do you need sticks?" Percy asked.

"Not sticks. Wands, actually." Neville replied, taking out his to show them. "They're all different for every person."

Hermione snapped out of her moment just to answer the question. She always liked answering things.

"In fundamental law," She started and ignored Ron's groans. "The wand chooses the wizard. It's unclear why, but certain wands have an affinity for certain witches or wizards. The connections made between both wizard and wand are complex. Both will grow with experience: the wand learning from the wizard, and the wizard from the wand. A wizard channels his energy with any wand, whether his or not—however, the best results come where there is a great likeness between a wizard and a wand."

Annabeth, who was listening with rapt attention, started to speak. "You're talking as if the wand itself is an intellectually being—is it really?"

Hermione nodded. "We have a study of wands called Wandlore. Even the most advanced wizards still don't fully understand the true workings of a wand."

"Cool. Sticks that can think," Percy commented. Everyone expressed their reactions by blatantly ignoring him, and his exclamation of "Rude!"

"Do you all really know how to use swords and combat and all?" Ginny asked excitedly.

Clarisse smirked. "Yup. You just happen to be talkin' to the best."

"But I'm all the way over here," Percy added with a grin.

Clarisse sent a glare at him and returned back to the conversation with Ginny. Everyone was bursting with questions, and conversations were growing in size in the small room; all quarrels before forgotten.

"So, do you use some magical potion thingy to straighten your hair? It's gorgeous!" Drew asked Ginny, who was smiling, but Luna could tell she was annoyed.

The girl Weasley answered nevertheless, as she usually missed out on normal girl talk anyway (only female out of male brothers, and Hermione spends all her time straightening out her best friends instead of her hair)."Well, it's a spell, actually…"

A daughter of Hecate, Lou Ellen, spoke with Hermione and Annabeth, enthusiastically explaining the differences of magic in the gods' world and the wizards.

Apparently, as Chiron explained after Luna told her tale, wizards descended—not from Hecate (directly) nor the other gods—but from the rubble from the first Titan war. Confused, many of the kids asked what the Hades/Merlin he was talking about.

As the first war ended, he said, many areas of the world were turned to ashes and debris. Magic was later used to reform the world which later there became trees and greens, but from the ashes, soil from the earth developed magical properties and formed into living creatures they knew as the first Wizards, born from Earth herself (Chiron held back the myth that they were some of the last children of Gaea, as that might have brought up some unnecessary questions).

They were powerful and very strong, but since they were a depleting race, they began mating with mortals. Generations and generations later, their powers dwindled down to their humanly cores which now can only be tapped out with the use of wands—a wizard's extension.

"It's rare for wizards nowadays to use magic completely without their wands," the centaur ended. Harry hoped Hermione wouldn't turn down the myth and call it ludicrous, but as he cast a sideway glance at the bushy-haired witch, he found she was just as intrigued as the rest of them.

"Yes," Luna added, "Only some of the most powerful wizards could produce light from the tip of their fingers (a spell called _Lumos_) or summon something (another spell, _Accio_) without using their wands."

The other wizards nodded in agreement; all, except Harry, who, after hearing Luna's words, froze in his seat. He never did tell anyone about how he used both those spells without his wand in the summer of 5th year, when he used _Expectro Patronum_ on those Dementors. No one noticed his quietness except for Percy, who sat across from him on the other side of the room. Percy might have acted goofily in front of the others, but he was always quite observant.

It took a shorter time to explain about Olympus and the gods with the wizards. The demigods were surprised at how easily they accepted the existence of gods, just like how the wizards were surprised at how easily they accepted the existence of wizards, as well.

Ron just expressed that once you fought mountain trolls in girls' bathrooms and rode a dragon out of a bank owned by goblins, nothing was that surprising anymore. Percy would agree, too, with his best friend being half-goat and the red cows and the man-eating horses that stink (Percy realized that the dream of barnyard animals when he was twelve made a lot more sense now than it did back then).

After spending two long hours in the Big House, everyone was wiped out and split ways. The other demigod counselors went back to their previous activities, while Chiron got a couple of satyrs and nymphs to show them the way to the shallow end of the forest, where the wizards would set up camp (they were offered to stay in any of the cabins, but the wizards declined, saying they didn't want to make any of the kids uncomfortable).

Neville went along with Katie Gardner, saying he wanted to see the well-fertilized plants they had in their fields. Conner Stole snickered when he saw his brother turn bright red as Neville and Katie walked away, animatedly talking about the acidity levels of beans.

"Don't worry, Travis," Conner said, still giggly. "The furthest they'd get is down the strawberry patch… oh, wait!"

He laughed on and barely dodged the punch that was thrown his way.

* * *

><p>"So, do you trust them?" Percy asked, sitting down on Annabeth's bed. At the moment, most of Athena's cabin was out in the fighting arena, where they were sparring with some other campers for answers about the "visitors". Percy and Annabeth happened to pop in the cabin right after they left. Annabeth concluded that it was better that way. The whole camp would know by the dinnertime.<p>

Annabeth, who was sitting on her desk, toyed around with Deadelus's laptop. "Well, what's not to trust? Chiron knows them and Luna is my sister—no matter how much I don't know about her. The biggest deal-closer is the fact that the gods haven't intervened the whole time Luna was telling us all about her life. They're trust worthy."

Percy absorbed her words and lay down on her bed, his arms behind his head and eyes toward the ceiling.

"I don't know about that one guy though, what was his name? The guy with the lightning bolt scar?"

"I think it was Harry Potter," Annabeth answered, not looking up from the laptop. "Why?"

"'Dunno," the boy answered, his eyes slowly closing. "He's got this weird vibe. Kinda like how I feel in the presence of a god. But lesser than that. I'm not a satyr, but I can guess he's got power. A lot of it."

* * *

><p>"I'm not sure, Ginny," Harry sighed. "They're all really friendly—well, some of them—and they seem trust worthy."<p>

Ginny, who was un-shrinking her luggage from her pocket with a wave of her wand, answered her boyfriend without hesitation.

"…_But?_"

Harry groaned on the couch. "But, I had this weird feeling when I was in the Big House!"

The wizards' had brought along Mr. Weasley's subordinate's old magical tent; the same one they used during the Wizarding World Cup and the ever-so-famous Horcrux Hunt.

Harry protested using it before they arrived, but Luna reminded them that since they didn't fill actual paperwork, there was a chance that there was a chance that there wouldn't be any room in the cabins for them. Yet, the truth was revealed to him when they found that only demigods were allowed in their cabins.

It smelled the same—of sweat and tears and burnt beans-from-a-can (courtesy of Hermione)—and Harry detested it with a fiery passion. There was nothing he could do about it, though. He made a mental note to himself to burn it when they went back home.

"What kind of weird feeling?" Ginny asked, raising a dainty eyebrow in the process. She started unpacking the clothes from her trunk.

"That boy, Percy Jackson. He didn't feel right." Harry thought. "It was like he made up most of the energy in the room. Too much power; I don't like it."

Ginny smacked his shoulder lightly. "You're probably just feeling tired. After all, it's five o'clock pm here, but back home, it's about ten at night."

"No, really!" Harry exclaimed. It didn't come out as convincing as he wanted it to, though, as she was right. He was tired.

Ginny shook her head. "Harry, don't be deluded. Everything's fine, just go to sleep. I'll wake you up when dinner starts."

* * *

><p>"Like a god?" Annabeth scoffed. "You're deluded, Percy."<p>

Percy was already fast asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Gah, it's <em>such<em> a short one. I'll update sometime this year. Ha.**

**Um, yeah. I have no words to express how sorry I am. All I hope is that you'd forgive me in exchange for this chapter. **

**And before you ask, yes, I did just make up the magical-soil-turning-into-wizards thing. I guess I'm just tired of authors making wizards spin-offs of Hecate's kids or something along those lines. (omg idek why I even said that wizards are kids of gaea like wtf)**

**Oh! And I've read Demigod Diaries! The Percabeth feels and Luke feels and Leo feels. And Alabaster feels? Geez, are all Riordans such darn good writers?**

****Well, the new review system is kinda bugging me, but can you spare this ol' girl a review?****

**-TN**

**P.S. **I'm also going back to school tomorrow. /gags****


	6. Drachmas and Galleons

**Disclaimer: I not own the Book(s), character(s). Thank.**

**Hey there little mama lemme whisper in yo ear, "SCHOOL SUCKS"**

**I have only just started school and they give us a f-ckton of work. Gah. This is the chapter I've been waiting to write—let the friendships and shenanigans begin! This chapter is mostly in the wizards' pov.**

**It's longer than usual (yo welcum), just because last chapter sucked. **

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 6 – Drachmas and Galleons<em>

Ron skidded to a stop, just enough time for him to catch his breath.

"Why do I need to do this again?" He panted.

Malcolm looked down at his stop watch. "Hm, impressive. You've been running for eight minutes without stops." He checked a box on his clipboard. _Acceptable fatigue rate_, he wrote. "Not as impressive as us demigods, though. We can go for two times longer."

Ron shot the Athena boy an annoyed glance and jogged to the bench, where a nice, cool bottle of water was waiting for him. Other children from the Athena cabin watched him curiously, like watching a caged animal in a zoo, and Ron was getting uncomfortable. He was just going along with their whim because they promised him they'd give him money in exchange for being a part of their "project". And food, too. Who was he to turn down free food?

Just as Ron was going to sit down on the bench for a breather, he saw a girl, probably only two or three years younger than him, come storming down the track. Ron deduced she was another Athena, considering her light blonde hair slicked back in a ponytail and her unnaturally grey eyes that burned deep into everything around her. Now that she was closer, Ron found that she was the Athena cabin's head counselor from yesterday's meeting at the Big House.

Malcolm and his siblings must have seen his sister come his way, too, because his eyes widened and his brow started to twitch.

"Listen, Annabeth, let me explain—" He started.

"Malcolm!" The girl—Annabeth—yelled. "_How dare you use one of the wizards for information?_ I remember that I explicitly told all of you to _stop_ experimenting on people! It's inhumane! Remember what happened last winter with that one Apollo boy?"

Well, thought Ron, it looks like Hermione's found someone that could rival her ability to reprimand to the point of nagging. But he wasn't annoyed as much as he was amused.

"He volunteered," the younger boy murmured. He looked back at his sister and looked like he was holding back a grimace. "But Annabeth, if no one is answering our questions, you know we'll do something. I hate not knowing."

Annabeth sighed. "I know, and I'm sorry, Malcolm, but some of the things the wizards' keep secret is secret for a reason. Their officials are very strict—"

"The Ministry of Magic," Ron offered.

"—yes, their officials are strict with their laws. Their government don't even know that we know what they're wizards. And in turn, the Ministry of Magic will continue on not knowing we exist." Annabeth concluded.

The girl sitting next to Ron on the bench had her eyes light up. "They have a government?"

"Of higher wizard officials?" Another one asked excitedly. "They have a whole community?"

"Worldwide, actually." Ron corrected. It was interesting how excited they were. "There're wizards here in the US of A, too. I think their Ministry is somewhere in Mass-chutes—"

"Massachusetts?" Malcolm asked.

"Oh, yeah," The red-headed wizard replied, scratching his head. "They even have a school there, too. Only I think it's only for witches."

"That makes sense!" A boy who looked like the youngest in the pack chirped. "The Salem Witch Trials were held there!"

Ron looked stumped. "…Witch trials?"

"Alright," Annabeth finally spoke up, exasperated, "You've got your information. Now release Ron and go back to your cabins or else you'll be in kitchen duty for the rest of the weekend."

That did it. They all fled back to where all the cabins were, only coming back to get a single notebook. Probably filled with the information of how many calories I eat every day, Ron thought with a small grin.

"Why's kitchen duty so bad?" Ron asked Annabeth as she was walking him back to the wizards' tent.

"You have to wash dishes," Annabeth smiled mischievously, and Ron almost regretted asking. "with _hot lava_."

"Oh." It was all he could say. Once they reached the outside of the tent, Annabeth stopped in her tracks.

"Wait," She stated slowly. "_This_ is where you're all staying? All five of you?"

Ron looked back, completely unfazed. "Yeah, why? I know it's a smidge shabby, but—"

Annabeth shook her head. "No, it's not that. Aren't you all crammed or something?"

Ron laughed, finally realizing what she meant. "Trust me, Annabeth, it's much bigger inside."

The Athena girl blinked in reply.

"Wanna see?" Ron asked her. "You could come in, if you'd like. I think Harry's still sleeping but I'm sure he won't mind…"

He disappeared inside the tent, leaving Annabeth outside, still quizzically examining the tent. She ignored him talking to her from the inside, something about Harry and Hermione not being there, and circled the tent. Finally giving in to her curiosity, she bent down under the tent flap. Her jaw loosened.

"What?" She went back outside to make sure she wasn't imagining things. Then she came back inside, a smile plastered onto her face.

Ron grinned as he heard her murmur.

"I love magic."

* * *

><p>"Harry!" That screeching was the first thing Harry heard when he awoke from his after-breakfast-before-lunch nap.<p>

Ever since the Final Battle, Harry realized that, without mystery-solving, meddling, discovering conspiracies, or sneaking away from pink toads, he had no real hobbies. For the past year, the great Harry Potter was reduced to sitting idly on couches, taking naps, and eating. He believed he had gained a little weight thanks to all the inactivity, to Hermione and Mrs. Weasley's delight.

Harry rubbed his eyes. "Yes, Hermione?"

Hermione stomped to his bed (which was so generously was provided by the tent that Harry wanted to burn/rip/shred/etc.) and immediately snatched the blanket that was wrapped around him.

"Hermione!" Harry yelped. "What was that for?"

"Oh, come off it, Harry. You've faced Death Eaters that popped out of thin air—you could've seen that coming." She replied, folding his blanket into a neat square, vigorously shaking her hands with every fold.

Call him Captain Obvious, but he guessed she was in a bad mood.

"Honestly," Harry said, sitting up. "What's really got you upset?"

Hermione stopped folding. "Honestly?"

Harry nodded. His best friend took a long sigh before she spoke.

"Well, _honestly_, I'm upset because my own _boyfriend_ decided to skive off having breakfast with me just so he could offer to work an experiment with those demigods in pension for food." Hermione bristled. "_Food_, can you believe? Aren't I _better_ than food, Harry? I mean, you wouldn't choose _food_ over Ginny, would you?"

Harry, in these particular situations, knew that it would be best if he took the side that would mean less yelling—at_ him_, of course. "Of course not, Hermione. I would never."

Like he never spoke, Hermione paved on. "And he always eats! He eats everyday! Well, maybe not when we went looking for horcruxes, but I tried to feed him that bean stuff from the can! I did my best! Is this _payback_ for doing my best? I don't know why I even bother!"

Harry waited until she finished ranting. She would lose steam eventually.

Hermione sat down next to Harry on his bed. "I don't know what to do with him anymore."

"Look for him, then," Harry told her. "Tell him how you…feel?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at Harry's stiff effort at love advice. "Yes, Harry, I will look for him."

Harry put out his arms in a stretching manner and said, "Well, why don't you go now, then? I'm supposed to meet Ginny at the pavilion as soon as I wake up, and I think Neville is lounging around with Gardner again."

Hermione nodded. Together, they both left the tent. Harry was glad he got out of there. It was beginning to remind him of _those_ days again.

* * *

><p>Harry had parted from Hermione when he saw Ginny waving him over to a table where no one else but her and Luna sat.<p>

Looking around, some campers began swamping in for lunch, sitting in their respective tables. They were all divided into groups, just like—

"Reminds you of Hogwarts, doesn't it?" Ginny interrupted his line of thought. "The tables, I mean."

Harry looked at her and nodded. "Stop reading my mind, again, Gin."

Ginny gave him a swift kiss on the lips before she gobbled down her sandwich. Before Harry could even think he wanted another one, Luna greeted him.

"Good morning. The nargles are slowly fading now that you're here, Harry."

"Hello, Luna," Harry replied after she did. "You seem like you're in a good mood."

Luna giggled, taking out a new copy of the Quibbler from her bag. Apparently there were five leprechauns spotted in downtown London conning out a bartender. "Of course—all my family's here! Except daddy and mother, but that's beside the point."

Harry smiled automatically. Even if the trip here was a bit of a pain, and even if the people here are weirder-than-regular-weird, and even though he was very hungry and hadn't taken one bite since the night before, he was happy that Luna brought them here.

Out of nowhere, a kid with vines for hair rushed passed the pavilion holding a brown mole while a Demeter kid Harry recognized as Katie Gardner ran after him, yelling.

"YOU IDIOT, _GIVE HIM BACK!_"

Well, the peace was nice while it lasted.

"What in Merlin's name was that?" Ginny asked. Obviously, she didn't seem very concerned as she continued on with her sandwich. Maybe it was that good, Harry mused.

Most of the campers ignored the event, as if it were a common thing, but a boy who resembled the boy with vines-for-hair but with no vines came up to their table and sat in between Ginny and Harry, putting his arms around both of the wizards.

"That, my wand-waving amigos," He replied, apparently having heard what Ginny said, "was a beautiful start to a magnificent afternoon."

"Hello, Connor." Luna said, seeing the boy in front of her.

"Hello, Loony," He replied with a smile. He said the name with a hidden tenderness, something Harry was glad to note. Usually when people called someone else "loony", it wasn't always a complement. He was glad some people in this camp liked her.

Ginny wrinkled her nose at the boy. "You reek of mud," she stated bluntly.

"Ah, that is because I have been _in_ mud." He replied smoothly, taking a piece of chicken off a plate on their table.

Harry raised an eyebrow in suspicion (he had that look down to a T). "Voluntarily?"

Connor shook his head, faking sadness. "No. _In_voluntarily. Miss Gardner over there pushed me."

"Why?" Ginny asked.

"Just because," He said vaguely, continuing to eat the chicken.

"Where is Neville?" Harry wondered aloud. "I thought he was with her?"

Connor gave a wide grin that made Harry and Ginny flinch. It was a Weasley grin that _used_ to grace both Fred and George's faces.

"Oh, he is." He said, swallowing the last morsel of chicken and standing up from the table. "Sayonara, magical people!"

And he left as fast as he came.

"That was weird." Harry said.

Luna finally looked up from what she was reading. "There's nothing here that isn't."

It actually explained a lot.

* * *

><p>Once Hermione left the pavilion, she started to walk towards the Athena cabin. She didn't know where the slightest she'd start looking for him, so she started out at the most obvious place—their cabin. Ron, the moron, didn't even mention where he was going. What if something bad happened to him?<p>

_Stop, Hermione_, she chided herself. _Ron is a big boy._ But he can't even go to the bathroom if he sees a spider near the sink! _It's not his fault he has arachnophobia!_

As Hermione internally battled with herself, she didn't notice that she was at the porch of the Athena cabin, and that a boy with bright blond hair, not older than her, was opening the door.

"Are you just going to stand there?" He asked, apparently as good in a mood as she was.

Hermione almost jumped in surprise as she realized someone was there. "I'm sorry; I'm just looking for my b—friend," she thinned her lips. "Ronald."

The boy's face suddenly molded into a surprised look. He looked noticeably brighter than he was seconds ago. "Ron? Oh, yeah. He went back to your tent thing." So he left already. She'd have to yell at him later on. "Anyway—you're a wizard, right?"

Hermione held back a grimace. The boy spoke faster than she did when she was a first year. She did what was safe and nodded.

"Yes, I am. Why?"

He gave a big grin and pulled her inside by the hand before she could say anything else.

"What are you—"

When she came in the cabin, she expected it to be like any other summer camp cabin like the ones she'd seen on the telly and on brochures she had been sent during summer holiday. But this was nothing like it at all—it was cluttered, but the organized kind, with shelves stocked with so many books most looked like it was going to give out and rows and rows of tables with blueprints, maps, and excess pieces of what seemed to be armor spilled onto their surfaces.

The books practically called her name and the seats looked more comfortable than the ones in the Library at Hogwarts; it definitely was more like a library than a cabin. The amount of books didn't match up with how many people were in the cabin. There looked to be a little more than a dozen kids who looked just like the boy who was tugging her along, all with blond hair and gray eyes. Just like Luna.

Hermione blinked and remembered that this was where Luna had spent her summers, probably reading these books and things and suddenly felt very jealous.

Hermione barely spotted any beds and finally realized that Athena's symbol was an owl made sense and they all probably got the same amount of sleep Harry got in sixth year—not a lot.

She instantly fell in love with it.

"This place is amazing," She breathed, taking in every inch of every shelf that contained probably thousands of books in the whole room.

The boy had the decency to reply. "I know, right?" He stopped where he was as people started noticing them. "Sorry to be rude—I'm Malcolm."

Hermione smiled. "I'm Hermione."

He frowned. "How do you spell that?"

"It's H-E-R-M-I-O-N-E," She replied, spelling it out. If this happened back home—which it wouldn't have because everyone knew of Hermione Jean Granger who helped Harry Potter save the Wizarding World—she would have just politely ignore him and walk away, but of course she didn't want to part from the beautiful cabin.

"Nice name," A boy hidden behind a large book commented. Hermione thanked him and finally asked what she was meaning to ask.

"Do you… need me for anything, Malcolm?"

The boy in question turned red, as if embarrassed about what he was going to say.

"Actually, yes." He replied. "Our sister got angry with us when we were ex—uh, _hanging out_ with Ronald. We left before we got any information—we're kind of a curious bunch. So, do you mind if…?" He left the question hanging in the air, ashamed to continue.

Thankfully, Hermione understood what he meant right away. "You'd like it if I stayed here and answer some questions you want answered?"

A few girls behind him nodded their head. Malcom sighed, "It's okay if you don't want to, and we don't really have anything else to offer, but—"

"Of course I will!" Hermione laughed unabashedly. "Just as long as you answer some of my own questions _and_ let me browse around your beautiful library? How many books do you have? This is amazing!"

The boy behind the book put the big book down, revealing his thin face and grey eyes like the rest of his siblings. Everyone looked just as happy as he did.

"You like books?" He asked, glowing.

"Like? Why, I love reading!" Hermione said. "Only, I wish all my other friends would appreciate it as much as I do."

"That's great! Does the wizarding world have books based on their histories, too?"

"Yes! I think I brought along _Hogwarts: A History _along with me…"

Everyone in the cabin started talking at once, enjoying Hermione's company.

Malcolm finally said, as they all gathered around Hermione's tattered copy of the _Tales of Beedle the Bard_, "I think I'm officially dubbing you as an honorary daughter of Athena, Hermione."

"It's official?"

"Well, to us it is."

* * *

><p>As Annabeth was sprawled on the rug of the tent, she heard Ron curse.<p>

"What is it?" Annabeth asked, looking up from the book he lent her, _Quidditch Through the Ages_ (he expressed that it was the best sport in the world).

"That bloody little rat didn't pay me!" He exclaimed, dropping down to where Annabeth was.

Annabeth frowned. "Please don't call my brother a 'bloody little rat'." —_Even if he does always interrupt her moments with Percy all the time_, she added in her head.

"Well, he is." Ron huffed, reminding Annabeth of the time one of her little brothers knocked down his own lego fort. "I can't believe I was conned."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "It's okay, Ron. As a daughter of Athena, I think I'll just pay you back."

Ron's eyes lit up like a puppy. "Really? That's great! Thanks, Annabeth."

She smiled. "Well, I don't really have any mortal money on me right now, but I have a couple drachmas."

"What are those?" Ron asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

She took them out from her side pocket. "Here,"

Ron took them in his hand, inspecting it. He started to laugh. "These look a bit like our galleons—I'll show you."

He stood up and went towards a luggage bag, rummaging through a clutter of clothes and other random things that Annabeth didn't really want to know about.

"I'm not really that rich or anything, but Harry's loaded." So apparently, this was a free-for-all zone wherein anyone could touch what everyone else had. Contrary to Annabeth, where she wouldn't hesitate to puncturing Percy for touching her donut. He was invincible, anyway. "This is a galleon. Minus the math part—it's pretty expensive."

Annabeth examined the galleon, just like how Ron did to the drachma.

"Interesting—they look kind of different, but they're both made of some expensive ore—gold." She felt it. "Can I keep it?"

Ron shrugged. "Sure, whatever. I don't think it'd be any use here, though. You don't have the same currency we do."

Annabeth held the urge to say "obviously" and tucked it in her pocket, preparing to show it to her siblings (as they might have cause some kind of ruckus by now).

"Gold is gold," Annabeth replied. "even if it's shaped as something else entirely. There's nothing different between drachmas and galleons besides the use for them."

Ron sat on the carpet, leaning back on Harry's bed.

"There's nothing different," He repeated. "between drachmas and galleons…"

* * *

><p><strong>I think I forgot to mention that since the wizards are staying in the tent, Luna is staying in her own cabin (Athena) but still gets to sit with the wizards because she is one. Yeah, okay. Hope no one's OOC.<strong>

**I like making unlikely friendships. I've decided to do two friendships a chapter, (although this one gave a little sneak peek to another friendship, hint hint) and the ones shown were (****just**** friends):**

_**Neville and Katie**_** | I think I mentioned their fast-found friendship last chapter. But how can you think "plants" and not think about Neville or Katie? Anyway, I'll expand on their relationship in either the next chapter or the one after that. (This includes Travis' attempts at murdering/maiming Neville whilst Connor sits idly behind, laughing at everyone.) So many friends, so little time.**

_**Ron and Annabeth**_** | I really believe these two would get along well. They'd fight like they do in their current relationships, like bantering, but it'd be a light, fluffy kind of sibling thing. Plus, they'd be anti-spider buds, too, amirite?**

_**Hermione and Malcolm**_** | Has no one made these cool cats friends yet? They're suddenly my headcanon besties for PJaO/HP crossovers. I know people like Annabeth and Hermione as friends, I do, too, I just think that their personalities would clash — Hermione's a bit self-conscious while Annabeth's fatal flaw is pride. Besides, isn't Malcolm adorbs? **

**Surprise friendships continue next chapters. You know, maybe reviews might motivate me to be faster. I dunno. **

**Oh, and feel free to give me prompts like the ones I've been using (the titles). They could be random phrases or just simple words. That'll be fun.**

**Gross, long Author's note. You'll get a star if you read all of this crapola.**


	7. Strawberries

a/n: edited dec 7, 2013

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 7 – Strawberries<em>

* * *

><p>Neville was visiting Katie by the strawberry fields again, Connor had told him.<p>

Travis swatted away Connor's hand on his shoulder and tried ignoring the way he smirked at his own deepening grimace.

He knew it bugged him and there was little to nothing he could do about it—but, who was he kidding? Of course there was something he could do about it—infinite amount of things—but Neville came off as a pretty nice kid, and he was sure the other wizards wouldn't take it too lightly if he turned one of their friends into a goopy, caramel mess.

"Maybe you should go and visit 'em, brother of mine," Connor told him. "Make sure they're not doing anything suspiciously evil or whatnot. You could turn their hair into grapevines! Torch her precious plants, maybe?"

"Go away," Travis replied smoothly. "I actually can do my own plotting, thank you very much."

A trace of a frown was seen on Connor's face before he broke into annoying laughter that he knew Travis hated so much (the one with snorting irregularly between breaths).

"You're actually going to do something to them? You know one of them already hates you and the other one's a freaking wizard, right?" His brother continued to laugh some more.

"Wait," Travis furrowed his eyebrows. "Katie _hates_ me?"

Connor sobered up and arched his own eyebrow. An idea suddenly clicked in and a smile began to grace his facial features. "What, isn't it _obvious?_"

"I—" Travis paused. "She's never—I don't think she _hates_ me." But it just sounded like he wanted to convince himself that. His voice cracked, too, but his brother thought he didn't need any more stress put upon him.

"Sure, _okay_," Connor drawled.

"Shut up," His brother replied, although without its usual charm.

"Just go up there," Connor said. "I'll even tag along for moral support. We haven't played a good prank for days!"

"There was the pink haired shampoo thing with the Aphrodite cabin," Travis offered.

"Too Disney Channel sitcom-esque," Connor dismissed.

"Fine, fine!" Travis surrendered. "Let's do something. Simple, okay? I actually feel like we'd get in major doo if the Neville dude's hurt."

Connor actually looked mad. "Seriously? When did you can about getting in trouble before?"

He groaned as Travis shrugged with no answer.

"Whatever, let's just get this over with." He said. "I'm kind of in the mood for a strawberry milkshake after."

* * *

><p>"So, you work at the camp store? What's in there?"<p>

Katie looked up from where she was kneeling on the ground, a hand stopping midair above a fresh strawberry.

Neville had been asking about the camp ever since he and she met, and it almost seemed like an interrogation. She would have denied him completely if they hadn't been such fast friends, and he did seem genuinely curious rather than suspicious, so she didn't see a problem in a little indulging.

To be frank, the camp store subject brought her back to being sore.

She tucked in a strand of black hair behind her right ear and sighed. "Yeah, I do. There's nothing much. Just junk food and other things that are a bit hard to get unless you know a way to sneak into the city."

The wizard beside her nodded. "I'm taking a wild guess here, honest—people steal from it?"

"_People?_" Katie scoffed, ripping off the strawberry and nearly munching it, leaves, dirt and all. "More like _idiots_. Idiots with no sense of practicality and—I can't even come up with a good _insult_ right now because—_really!_ Who in the Underworld steals _five cans of cherry soda _when it comes in a pack of _six?_ Why not take all the six instead of leaving one behind? I bet they did that just to piss me off! _Who does that?_"

"Ah," A voice interrupted. "Speaking highly of us again, Gardeny Gardner?"

Another voice chimed in. "I know you can't help it—we're just too _amazi_—"

"_Get out_." Like an immediate reaction to their voices, Katie stood up, not even turning around as she ordered them. "Get out before I conjure up ten foot long weeds and strangle you _both_ to death."

Neville looked back and saw the two Stoll brothers grinning ear to ear. The older brother winced for a second, though.

"Kind of hostile today, huh, Katie?" Travis asked.

Connor blinked up from his weirdly long eyelashes. (Reason number 142 she disliked the boys—their features were so much more feminine then she'd ever be, and it made her almost jealous. Almost. She could still punch the lights out of them if she wanted to.) "We just wanted to say hi to Neville over there."

Travis waved. "Hi, Neville."

Katie almost growled. "Can't you two just leave me alone for a day?"

They stepped a little closer, making Katie retract a step back, nearly squashing a strawberry bush beneath her foot.

Travis smiled a little. "I just want to ask you something—no tricks, okay?"

"Like I'd believe anything you'd say." Was Katie's immediate reply.

There was a little flicker in his eyes before the older Stoll brother spoke again.

"D'you mind if I steal her away for a minute?" He directed to Neville, taking her gently by the elbows. This was when Katie knew something was wrong—really wrong, because _Travis_ and _gentle?_

"You're not allowed to '_steal_ me away'," She heard herself disagree. "I am not a _thing_, alright, Travis? I'm a living, breathing _girl_. Start treating me like one!"

Connor broke out into fizzles of laughter, and Travis glared at him. He turned back to Katie and she only noticed then—they were really, _really_ close. She became quite aware of her messy hair and ugly mud brown eyes and dumb freckles—but then, it was _Travis_. Why did she care what he thought?

He smiled and for some reason everything in Katie's stomach turned mushy. Since when did he get dimples?

"…so it's all fine. Okay?" Travis finished.

Katie cursed aloud and all three boys looked at her with some sort of surprise.

"What?" She asked, and she realized she said it obnoxiously loud.

"What?" Travis repeated.

"Katie," That was Neville, "you seem to have your hands full. Should I leave, or…?"

"No—"

"No! 'Course not, old buddy!" Connor interrupted, slapping Neville on the back. This took the wizard by surprise, as he had to regain his footing. "While the love doves are away, we can go ahead and play! Say, you haven't seen the Hephaestus cabin yet, have you? They have secret underground lairs!"

"They don't…" What Katie was going to say died at the tip of her tongue. She gave a resigned sigh. "Bring him back in thirty minutes. I was going to show him the new Venus fly trap my sister brought in."

Connor rolled his eyes and dragged poor Neville with him towards the Hephaestus cabin, leaving Katie alone with Travis in the strawberry fields.

Forcing a smile on her face, she turned to the boy in front of her.

* * *

><p>Neville was not that nervous.<p>

How could he be? There were a lot more nervous-worthy things he'd faced in the past—his grandmother and Professor Snape to name a few. But there was something about Connor's smile that brought up his guard.

"Connor," Neville said, the Hermes boy's name sounding weird from his mouth. "Weren't the cabins in the other direction?"

Connor glanced back and gave him a cheeky grin, not unlike the one he had given his brother and Katie before they left. "Oh? Well, this is… a _shortcut_."

_That's hard to believe_, Neville thought. He didn't say anything else as he followed Connor. They were somewhere nearing the woods, and Neville even saw Hermione walking towards the Athena cabin as they went. _Maybe I could call out to her_.

"Alright," Connor stopped in a clearing. Luckily, they were in the shallow parts of the woods. That fact didn't cheer Neville up at all. "I hope you have no hard feelings, ''kay?"

And before Neville could even breathe a scream, Connor brought out a bag of some powder-reminiscent substance and threw.

The last thing Neville thought before turning into a mole was that he really wanted to see that Venus fly trap.

* * *

><p>Travis scratched the back of his neck before he began talking. "I wanted to ask you something, like, not that it means anything."<p>

There was no way Katie Gardner _hated_ him, right?

He didn't notice the way Katie was breathing (heavily), but he did see how she wore her hair in a ponytail and he was tempted to pull back some hairs that were amiss for her. She was so pretty.

"Travis, why are you red?"

"Huh?" Flushing even brighter, Travis coughed to try to cover it up. "Nothing, I just… Do you really hate me?"

Apparently, that wasn't what she was expecting because Katie blinked slowly before a slow smirk took place. "Well, I wouldn't say _hate_—"

_Yes!_ Travis thought gleefully.

"But 'extremely dislike' is a good phrase for where I stand."

_Hades_.

"Why does it matter, anyway?" Katie asked him. "You hate me."

"I don't!" He cried. "I mean, I-I don't _like_ you, but I don't hate you."

He hoped to Aphrodite she didn't hear him stutter. Actually, he takes that back; Aphrodite can forget about him.

Katie gave him a look that he couldn't identify. "That's good."

"It is?"

She shrugged and was about to say something and paused, her eyes pried behind Travis. "Oh, no way."

Travis turned to see his brother carrying a pudgy mole squirming in his grasp.

He pointed. "Is that…?"

Connor nodded, and that was the last quiet portion of their day.

* * *

><p>"So, you're saying you can raise the <em>dead?<em>" Harry asked again.

He knew he was being annoying, but he couldn't get over the fact that it could be done. Especially from a kid like him… but no—he learned to never judge someone by how they looked (except Umbridge; he fit that toad to a T).

Nico, who sat next to him innocently on the Hades' Cabin porch, shrugged. "It's more complicated than that, I guess. And I can't raise just _anyone_ from the dead."

Harry was silent, taking in the boy's words. He'd dealt with death more times than he'd liked to, and he'd thought he'd gotten over the desire to see his departed family and friends a while back, but just a couple words from Luna about "the boy who could raise the dead" made the feeling come speeding back. It was ridiculous.

He had to keep reminding himself about the Mirror of Erised and the Stone. What they _did_ to him. He already saw his parents and Sirius and Remus back in the Forest before he "died", and knew deep in his heart that they'll always be with him, but it was a fault to say the idea was unthinkable. The _fact_ it was physically possible for them to come back—it was just so bloody _tempting_.

Next to him, Nico observed the older wizard next to him. He looked really wimpy, Nico thought. How could this guy have beaten the greatest wizard in the world?

To be honest, Nico had never heard of the Wizarding World before. He was pretty sure there were some in the Underworld—where else would they go? But he was pretty pissed that his father didn't think any of this was important enough to at least _mention_, but he guessed there was some kind of taboo about it or something. Yeah, Nico definitely knew that his father knew about _this_. He knows everything.

When Nico was approached by the dude with the scar, he had to admit, under all that wimpy glory and baggy shirt, he was a pretty intimidating guy. It was just the kind of aura he felt around some of the stronger spirits back home, and even strangely reminded him of Percy. But that could be right—besides the eyes and hair—they practically looked nothing alike (well, that's what he thought).

"So," Nico started. "Is there some super duper important reason why you've been asking these questions to me? Dead pet? Teacher? Friend? Family member?"

Harry was ripped out of his reverie and blinked. "Hm? Oh. You could say that."

It was the tone, Nico thought. He'd just hit a mine.

Maybe it was his eyes that looked really old, like Percy's or Annabeth's or even Chiron's, or maybe it was his hands that looked too roughed up, or maybe it was that interesting scar that was shaped as a lightning bolt—Nico felt like exploding.

"I lost my sister," His mouth spoke for him. He resisted clamping his hand over his mouth. Why did he say that? He never admitted it willingly before—

He glanced at Harry, expecting an ashamed apology, or for the older ones, the classic "It's going to be alright". As if they knew.

Instead of doing any of that, Harry caught him off guard by smiling. Taken out of context, others might have found it rude, but his smile was anything but taunting.

"She's always going to be with you, though, isn't she? Your sister, I mean." The wizard said, now twisting the edges of his shirt. "That's one of the pros of death—if there are any. They'll always be with you until the end.

Nico paused as his mind froze. Deep inside, there was a tiny part of him doubting Bianca's presence in his life. If she cared at all, she would be inside the Hades cabin, asking Nico in the stern way she did to clean up after himself, still alive and healthy._ But she's not._

Harry. The realization just came rushing into his head.

"Who was it?" The son of Hades asked abruptly. He was never good at comforting people, and whenever he attempted to, it sounded like an insult, or at least very tactless. Right now, he'd guess tactless. God, Percy was rubbing off—

Right. Don't think about Percy for a second, brain.

Harry didn't hesitate, or be offended, which relieved Nico to a length. "My parents. Uncles. A couple more."

Nico nodded his head slowly. He didn't remember all his family from his mother's side—maybe he didn't have any at all, but if he did, they'd all be dead by now. So was Bianca.

"Nico," Harry began. "There was this stone—"

Nico would never know what Harry would've meant to say because at that moment, Rachel Elizabeth Dare came prancing towards his cabin, holding something that looked like a can of green paint and a paintbrush in both hands.

"Hey!" She exclaimed. "_Nico!_"

Nico almost groaned aloud.

Harry gave him a curious look before facing the girl before them, hair red like strawberries.

"Can I ask both of you for a favor?"


End file.
